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The second part of the name refers to the old road (bealach) which led from the west over the mountains into Glendalough.
Conavalla is the 87th highest place in Ireland.Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/86/?PHPSESSID=gbamn3bg3nd56cv2824c28ohj6

Conavalla has a plain, lonely place at the head of the Glenmalure valley. It can be reached from various points such as from the car park at Boravore T046943A from where you proceed NW up forest tracks, reaching and then leaving the forest marked on the OS map. Another route is from the Wicklow Gap O075003B, from which you walk up the road to the Turlough Hill power storage system, past Lough Firrib so reaching Conavalla from the NE. This route is notoriously difficult in misty conditions without a GPS. When wet, which is to say often, the flattish region around 350 to 700m to the NE of the summit has perhaps the worst bog in Wicklow. It is also possible to reach Conavalla from the north, for example starting at O 020014C which is the end of a rough road, and going to the Art's Plaque at T036994D.

It and the Arts Cross T 03789 98934E on the height above it commemorate Art O'Neill who died in 1592 on his flight from Dublin Castle. There are also the two lakes of "Three Lakes" at 032982F.
Conavalla fits into various routes such as the circuits of Glenmalure or Glendalough and the occasional Lug Walk. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/86/comment/4846/

Picture from padodes : Art's Cross

Picture: Art's Cross

padodes on Conavalla, 2008

by padodes 13 Feb 2008

Almost 2 km due north of Conavalla, at the edge of the upland plateau rolling wetly down from the top of the hill and about midway between Lough Firrib and Three Lakes, lies Art’s Cross (T 038 991G). In pre-GPS days, when thick fog descended on this broken bogland, it could be quite tricky to find the landmark, since the terrain never allowed the walker to follow anything remotely similar to a direct bearing. As it happens, the Cross doesn’t mark the exact spot where, according to tradition, Art O’Neill died in 1592 on his flight from Dublin Castle to Glenmalure with Red Hugh O’Donnell. That spot lies in the valley, below, close to the foot of the nearby waterfall. The view from the top, looking northwards, takes in a beautiful expanse of mountain scenery from Tonelagee in the NE right across to Mullaghcleevaun in the N, and Moanbane and Silsean in the NW (the latter three, left to right, are visible in the photo). Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/86/comment/2959/

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Picture from padodes : Art's Memorial

Picture: Art's Memorial

padodes on Conavalla, 2008

by padodes 17 Feb 2008

Just west of Art’s Cross (T 038 991G), a stream tumbles from the plateau to form Gleenreemore Brook in the valley below. Slightly east of the foot of the waterfall can be seen the memorial to Art O’Neill (T 036 994D), indicating the spot where, according to tradition, he breathed his last. It’s easily missed, since the grassy ramp that marks the beginning of the ascent (or end of the descent) alongside the waterfall takes you away from it. It’s a granite plaque in Irish set into a striated boulder, with a little cross on top. It was placed there, as a few lines tell us at the bottom, by Cumann Siúlóirí na hÉireann in 1992 - the four hundreth anniversary of Art's death - to replace another that had been there since 1932. Although this is a recent memorial, it is sculpted in the elegant demi-uncial script of earlier years, so my guess would be that it has simply copied the 1932 model. Passing by yesterday, 9 Feb. ’08, I noticed several Christmas wreaths were still lying at the foot of the memorial, so obviously Art is no forgotten figure in our history. The fact that he faced the rigours of these hills in winter gives him a place in walkers' hearts, too. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/86/comment/2960/

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Tom Milligan on Conavalla, 2005

by Tom Milligan 19 Jun 2005

Traversing the boggy area between Lough Firrib and Conavalla can be a source of some nervousness for many, especially in wet conditions, but there is a way to this summit from Turlough Hill which bypasses Lough Firrib and provides a relatively pleasant and bog-free experience. Heading along the traditional route over the disused quarry towards Lough Firrib on 296 degrees, stop at the rocks (T:06045 98347H) which precede the descent into the Turlough-Firrib boggy arena. From here head resolutely on 246 degrees downwards, then over a shoulder and down to the Glenealo river, and then upwards to Conavalla. You'll be asking yourself "Why don't we do this all the time?". Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/86/comment/1762/

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Picture from ewen : Bog

Picture: Bog

Sometimes a hill doesn't like you

by ewen 6 Jan 2018

Conavalla hates me. It really does. I finally reached the top on my fourth attempt. Three other attempts were thwarted by weather but I was going to beat it. Third attempt via Tomaneena and I was determined to get it.
The mountain threw everything it had. Mist, blizzard and bog all combined to try and make me turn back. At one point the ice broke on the bog and I sank over my knees. I got one leg out but the other was stuck fast. I had to sit down and dig out peat with my hands. I then crawled over cracking bog ice to a hag where I considered turning back. No, the top was only a few hundred metres and I did get it.
Returning to Lough Firrib, I took a wide detour to avoid the worst of the bog but Conavalla released her white out. Luckily I had GPS as well as my map so she let me proceed to Tomaneena and down to Wicklow gap.
The bog is a killer but I beat Conavalla. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/86/comment/19834/

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Picture from csd

csd on Conavalla, 2003

by csd 14 Sep 2003

Surrounded by sucking bogs, Conavalla can take quite an effort to get to if it's been wet. Beware, the nice fat forest track on the southern side of Conavalla, shown on the Harvey and Hely maps, doesn't extend as far as shown. If you're thinking of using it to head for Lugduff I'd think again! Picture shows Conavalla taken from the top of the Table Track, with Tonlagee in the background on the left. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/86/comment/641/